Features have not been officially confirmed in the update except for the inclusion of the new Start screen experience i.e. three Tile sizes: small, normal and the doublewide. In addition, re-branding of Zune to Xbox Music and the new Xbox Games icons have been changed, plus the Bing lockscreen wallpaper feature. Other smaller changes are expected in the final release build, pegged at 7.10.8858.

Currently it is unknown which phones will get the update nor which carriers will support it, but Nokia and HTC are expected to fully embrace the rollout.

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The Windows Phone 7.8 update is here. Well, it will be once you're able to update your hardware should you not go down the manual route. We've all be eagerly awaiting the notification that there's a new build available, but what if you overlook a new feature or miss new functionality through excitement (with or without comforting alcohol), or simply not being aware that such magic exists? We'll quickly run you through on how to get started with the 7.8 update.

Welcome to another From the Forums! This week has been a busy one with the last handful of days featuring the launch of BlackBerry 10, as well as reports that Windows Phone 7.8 is officially rolling out to consumers. It's been an eventful day today with a few articles comparing the Z10 from BlackBerry against Windows Phone and the Lumia 920 in particular, along with our usual news coverage.

Microsoft has posted the change log for the Windows Phone 7.10.8858.136, otherwise known as the Windows Phone 7.8 update.

While the hardware of our old Windows Phone 7.5 devices couldn't support a full-blown update to Windows Phone 8, the 7.8 update offers us a few performance tweaks but mostly cosmetic changes. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Update: Files have been updated to make the app more stable and reliable and indeed it does work better now. (5PM ET)

Windows Phone Hacker has released a new “wrapper” tool called 'Seven-Eighter' that reportedly makes manually installing the 7.8 update less cumbersome than downloading all the files yourself. The app comes in x86 and x64 and is a simple executable that you run on your PC (you’ll need to give it permission in Windows 8).

If you've checked your Windows Phone 7.5 device for the 7.8 update with no success, you may want to try to force the process, just as we did with other Windows Phone updates like Mango.

This is a little different than downloading and installing Windows Phone 7.8 manually, which we reported on earlier. With this method you're basically tricking the Microsoft servers to recognize your Windows Phone and initiating the update early. Think of it as cutting in line (and Microsoft is okay with this, no worries).

The other benefit with this method (versus the CAB one) is it means you are getting the official carrier/OEM update that usually includes the firmware too. If using just CABs you are updating the OS but not any device specific software. That's not a bad thing but it's really not ideal.

Windows Phone 7.8 is just heading out to consumers, but appears to be wrapped up in a strategic deployment. Should you wish to no longer wait for the update to prolong the lifespan of your Windows Phone 7 handset, XDA Developers forum has the CAB files listed for download. Be sure to file this under "Experienced users only."

We’ve all been holding our breaths the past few months waiting for older devices running Windows Phone 7.5 to get the modest update to 7.8. Great news for those of you with a Nokia Lumia handset like the 710 or 900 – starting today, the Windows Phone 7.8 update is rolling out to all of you.

It’s been a long time coming, but your Nokia Lumia 510, 610, 710, 800, and 900 have been a little bummed out about missing the double wide Live Tile action newer phones have been getting. Not anymore, you can now look forward to multiple tile sizes, lockscreens, and more theme colors.

Another fine day for rumors, and today we have a fairly big one. Chinese tech site WPDang just announced that according to their resources, the Windows Phone 7.8 OS update will be pushed to all older generation devices (Windows Phone 7.5 and older) in every corner of this world at about 18:00 GMT, January 30, 2013.

Considering you guys could be located anywhere, we'll not convert that into some other time zone. Instead let's just say that if this rumour is indeed true, your old Windows Phone will receive a welcomed update in 5 hours. Not every phone will get the push exactly on time though. Like each update before, Windows Phone 7.8 will roll out in 4 waves, with the whole process concluding in 3 weeks.

HTC has revealed on Twitter that no plans are in the pipeline for Windows Phone 7.8 to be released for the HD7. While this is no confirmation that the company will never update the HD7, it's a shame there's nothing for consumers who still wield the handset. Sporting Windows Phone 7, the user experience is still butter smooth and rich, but everyone wants the latest and greatest, right?

AT&T's previous Nokia flagship, the Lumia 900, will be one of the first to sport the 7.8 OS upgrade

Nokia Lumia 900 users on AT&T can look forward to receiving the Windows Phone 7.8 OS update on Wednesday, January 30th—one day earlier than what we were anticipating. Windows Phone Central has learned (via an internal AT&T email) details of the update including that it was approved on January 7th by the carrier.

We’ve written extensively on the 7.8 update recently including giving a full video-tour of what the update will look like. That was accomplished by flashing our Lumia 900 with the Nokia-approved ROM files that were posted to Nokia’s servers. While this method works, it also wipes the phone and can be risky (in addition to frustrating if you don’t have the right drivers).